The Joy of Ministry
Josh and I spent last night playing mini golf with kids from the youth group (and the friends they brought). We had a blast wacking our balls around, making up songs (with dances), sharing, yelling at our balls that don’t go the direction we want them to go, playing in the arcade. I didn’t get up the courage to play Dance Dance Revolution. Actually, I think I didn’t play because there were always a lot of sweaty boys around it. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.
I took a couple of kids home and we had some interesting conversations about homelife, Christ, and just life. Overall the night was such a joy. I still have a smile on my face.
I used to really get nervous talking about Christianity with peole because I was scared I wouldn’t get all the facts right. Or I’d say something dumb that would just send them further from God. But, I don’t feel that way with kids. It’s just sharing with adults that makes me nervous. That’s interesting. I wonder why that is.
I grow frustrated daily by the circumstances that many of my students grow up in. I mean, we’re talking serious abuse, drug addiction (even parents who help their kids get stoned because “You’re going to do it eventually anyway, so it will be safer if I’m here”), alcoholism, really messy divorces (where the parents try to buy their kid’s love, or they say “You can decide who you want to live with, me or your dad,” then freak out when they pick the opposite parent. “Why did you pick him don’t you love me???”), and so on. It breaks my heart.
I get frustrated by people who have children and can’t raise them. Especially the ones who don’t seek some kind of help to raise their kids right. I have students who are living on their own (age 11-13) in this country because their parents have sent them “to learn English before we get there.” So, that means that we have kids that are essentially on their own for most of the year. They usually don’t have a lot of motivation to learn.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATING. I just don’t get it. And sometimes I don’t really think there’s anything that I could really do to help them. All I know is to listen, to ask questions, and to try to help them in their search for God. He’s the one that can help them.